Battle of Luo Castle

The Battle of Luo Castle occurred in 213 AD when Liu Bei's army, during its takeover of Yi Province, captured Luo Castle from Liu Xun, the son of Yi Province lord Liu Zhang.

Background
Following the Battle of Chibi in 208 AD, the allies Liu Bei and Sun Quan rescued southern China from invasion by Cao Cao's forces. Sun Quan initially sought to conquer Yi Province with Liu Bei's help, but Liu Bei dissuaded Sun Quan from doing so, as he belonged to the same family as Yi lord Liu Zhang. In 211 AD, Liu Zhang asked Liu Bei for assistance against Cao Cao, who was planning to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong before invading south into Yi Province. Liu Bei and his army moved into Yi Province, where they were received warmly. Seeing how the people of Yi Province revered Liu Bei, Liu Bei's officers, especially his strategists Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, plotted to take over the province in Liu Bei's name, although Liu Bei did not want to fight against his own relatives. Zhuge Liang used bribery to convince many of Liu Zhang's forces to defect or surrender, and many of Liu Zhang's subordinates welcomed Liu Bei's army as it advanced, but Luo County's generals refused to be bought by wealth or power. Now, Liu Bei's army would have to conquer Luo Castle in order to continue the advance to Chengdu.

Battle
Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei led their units southwest towards Luo Castle as Liu Bei, Huang Zhong, and Pang Tong advanced northwest through the Mianzhu Forest to bypass Luo Castle and continue the advance on Chengdu. Zhao Yun charged into battle and cut down Lei Tong, leading to the gates to Luo Castle opening. Zhao Yun then advanced into the castle, where he attempted to convince Liu Xun's peasant militia to join Liu Bei. However, they did not want their ways of life to change, and they resisted Liu Bei's Forces' assault on their castle. Zhao Yun defeated Fei Guan, but Gao Pei arrived with reinforcements for Liu Zhang, and Gao expressed his anger at Liu Bei's "betrayal". Gao Pei's reinforcements appeared behind Zhang Fei's unit in the southeast, so Zhao Yun emerged from Luo Castle to fight them. He defeated Yang Huai and Gao Pei, repelling the counterattack on Luo Castle. He then proceeded to return to the castle and battle Liu Xun, cutting him down. Liu Xun's defeat led to Luo Castle being captured by Liu Bei's army, enabling Zhao Yun to take part in the assault on Chengdu.